Whether it’s people coming for the natural beauty, the booming industry around marijuana legalization, or to be around one of the most fitness-focused cities in the country, it’s clear that Colorado Springs has a lot to love.

To help you make sense of each aspect of the city and feel prepared before making the move, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide with all the most vital information you’ll need.

The Springs is relatively affordable for a city of its size, ranking as the 64th most expensive city in a list of US cities’ cost of living.

And to get an idea of some of the beautiful scenery The Springs has to offer, check out this sweet drone footage

Neighborhoods in Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs is a city with over 100 neighborhoods, which means it has a very wide variety of areas to fit almost anyone’s specific needs.

To better look at the city, it helps to divide it into basic regions (Southwest, South/Southeast, West, Northwest, Northeast, North, Powers, East, and Central) as seen in the map below.

When selecting an area to buy or rent, it’s important to like the vibe but the most important aspect of a neighborhood is going to be whether or not you can actually afford it.

The above rental hotspot map from Truila shows that, generally, rent in The Springs is more expensive in the more centralized regions and gets less expensive as you move further from the center of the city.

The less expensive areas in the city are going to be places like Venetian Village, East Colorado Springs, Village Seven, and Stratton Meadows which will have rents in the $850-$950 range.

Places like Skyway, Northeast Colorado Springs, and Southeast Colorado Springs fall more into a middle price-range meaning that rent here will run around $950 to $1,100 per month.

And if you want to live in a higher-end area of town, rent is going to run $1,100 and higher in areas like Central Colorado Springs, Briargate, Interquest, and Northgate.

And now that you know where you will and won’t be able to afford, you can look into whether or not you actually like these places.

Where are people like me living in Colorado Springs?

When trying to decide where to live, it’s difficult to know exactly what an area’s vibe is. Fortunately, Esri has developed their Zip Tapestry tool for doing just that!

It’s incredibly intuitive. To demonstrate, we’ve searched the zip code for Downtown Colorado Springs (80903) and Esri pulled up the three largest demographic sections in the area along with a ton of other useful info.

So, once you’ve decided you like a place, you’ll also want to figure out how feasible it’ll be to get from there to work every day.

Walking, Biking, and Riding Around The Springs

Colorado Springs is sort of walkable, has decent biking infrastructure, and has very weak public transportation options.

The Springs has a 36 walk score which isn’t the worst, but it’s fairly weak compared to many major metropolitan areas.

Fortunately, efforts are underway to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety throughout the downtown area which should improve the city’s overall walkability.

And speaking of cyclists…

The Springs is bike-friendly

Of all its alternative transportation options, Colorado Springs bikers are in the best position with a bike score of 46.

Aside from the aforementioned infrastructure improvements, the city does a lot to encourage biking in Colorado Springs like hosting Bike to Work Day and the Mayor’s Community Bike Ride as part of Bike Month in June.

Colorado Springs is also in the process of updating its bicycle master plan which will help to further encourage two-wheeled transportation throughout the city.

Unfortunately, the busses don’t fare quite as well…

Public Transportation in The Springs is Pretty Weak

The primary source of public transportation in The Springs is handled by Mountain Metro which offers bus services throughout downtown and the surrounding suburbs but doesn’t really extend into residential areas.

To their credit, Mountain Metro does offer assistance with other alternative commuting options such as bike lockers, bike-to-bus services, and park and ride options.

Crime in Colorado Springs

According to NeighborhoodScout, The Springs has a crime score of 11 out of 100 (with 100 being the safest possible score).

That might seem fairly low, but it’s actually on par with other cities of similar sizes.

Things seem a bit better if you look a little deeper into the data and notice that the total crime rate is only 11% violent crime. So although the rate is high, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s highly dangerous.

To give you an idea of what’s out there, here are a couple suburbs in The Springs that stood out to us:

Old North End

Located just north of Downtown, the Old North End is one of the trendier areas of town featuring a ton of historic homes both large and small. Primarily appealing to established families, doctors, professors, and lawyers, the Old North End’s charm comes at a relatively high price.

Pleasant Valley

People wanting to be somewhat removed from the city will find a lot to love in Pleasant Valley. What was once one of the most expensive neighborhoods in The Springs has become fairly affordable. The area is particularly attractive to new families who are drawn to its ranch-style homes and proximity to the Garden of the Gods.

Out-of-State Vehicle Registration: And if you’re bringing a car with you, you’ll need to get a Colorado license plate.

Trash & Recycling: As soon as you can, make sure to get set up with Springs Waste Systems to make sure your trash doesn’t pile up on the front lawn.

Make Friends and Meet New People: It’s not easy making connections in a new town, but thanks to resources like Meetup which helps people with similar interests get connected and r/ColoradoSprings which is great for keeping up with what’s happening around town.

Things to Do in The Springs

When getting a feel for a new city, sometimes the best place to start is their official website. Colorado Springs has a pretty solid site devoted to sharing info on upcoming events and general things to do around town.